Scotland full-back makes case to Scott Johnson to play at No 10 against Italy,
a position he was given during the Lions tour

Stuart Hogg has said he is now ready to move to fly-half after another frustrating afternoon with Scotland denied him any real opportunities to attack from his customary full-back berth.

Hogg lit up last year’s Six Nations Championship when he scored tries in Scotland’s opening two games – against England and Italy – but he has seen little of the ball in this ­season’s clashes with Ireland and England, games in which the Scots have run up a total of just six points, and all from Greig Laidlaw's two ­penalties in Dublin eight days ago.

Interim head coach Scott Johnson said on Saturday evening that he was prepared to make changes to the side for Scotland’s next game, against Italy in Rome on Feb 22. However, the Australian indicated that he has nothing radical in mind.

“I will tinker with the team,” said Johnson. “I am not going to make massive changes. If it needs to be tinkered with I will tinker.”

Despite that, Johnson has also said in the recent past that he is interested in giving Hogg an outing in the playmaker’s berth, whether by moving him there during a game or by taking the bolder route of starting him at fly-half. Hogg’s all-round footballing skills were enough to persuade Warren Gatland to use him in that slot twice on the Lions tour to Australia last summer.

“I would love to step up there,” said Hogg. “Whatever is best for the team. Especially in games like that, when you’re not getting the ball at 15, stepping up to 10 would be the ideal opportunity. But whatever the gaffer says goes. We’ll just listen to him.

“If I have to step up and start then I’ll do that. It is whatever Johnno says and whatever [backs coach] Duncan Hodge wants. Ultimately, it’s their decision.

“I had a chat at the start of the Six Nations. There could be a chance I would step up to 10. It put a smile on my face and I said to Johnno that I would do whatever was best for the team. But fair play to Duncan [Weir, who played fly-half on Saturday] because he’s done well in the past couple of games. It would be rude to take him away from that.”

Hogg’s frustrations spilt over on Saturday, when he was visibly angry towards the end of the game and was told to curb his temper by Jérôme Garcès, the French referee.

The 21-year-old Glasgow Warrior apologised for the incidents afterwards, but explained that the condition of the Murrayfield pitch had only added to his discomfort.

“I did lose the head a couple of times,” he said. “That was bad, but it was just really frustrating. You want to play running rugby but then you get that pitch out there, which is diabolical to be honest. We were struggling straightaway.

“It was a frustrating afternoon. We couldn’t get the ball in the right areas and the set piece wasn’t working, while England held the ball for long periods and played in the right area – something we just failed to do.”